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👩‍⚖️ DOJ sues to stop Amedisys sale

AstraZeneca's commitment to China, Healthcare spending on hospitals, Trump's second term, and more!

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Pulse Points
November 13, 2024

In this edition:

  • 👩‍⚖️ DOJ sues to stop Amedisys sale

  • 🚓 AstraZeneca CEO reaffirms China commitment

  • 2️⃣ How healthcare is reacting to a second Trump term

  • ％ 41% of healthcare spending is on hospitals

  • And more!

DOJ sues to stop Amedisys sale

The U.S. Department of Justice and three U.S. states filed a lawsuit on Tuesday to block UnitedHealth Group's $3.3 billion acquisition of Amedisys Inc, citing concerns that the deal would reduce competition in the home health services market.

"Eliminating the competition between UnitedHealth and Amedisys would harm patients who receive home health and hospice services, insurers who contract for home health services, and nurses who provide home health and hospice services," the DOJ said in a statement.

The attorneys generals of Maryland, New Jersey and New York are also suing to block the merger.

The Amedisys combination with Optum would be pro-competitive and further innovation, a spokesperson for Optum said. "We will vigorously defend against the DOJ's overreaching interpretation of the antitrust laws."

UnitedHealth operates Optum, a health services unit that provides analytics, research and pharmacy care services among others.

A spokesperson for Amedisys said the company remains committed to the transaction. "We look forward to supporting Optum in presenting our case," the company said.

AstraZeneca CEO reaffirms China commitment

AstraZeneca is not backing away from China despite an investigation into its president of China operations.

As the company reported its third-quarter earnings, questions continued to swirl around the detention of its China president Leon Wang last week. CEO Pascal Soriot was clear that Wang’s detention, along with the detention of other current and former AstraZeneca employees in China, is not welcome news for the company.

But he also stressed that the events won’t dissuade AstraZeneca from developing drugs for Chinese patients.

“We remain very committed to China,” Soriot said. “It’s a very important market for us, first of all, because there are lots of patients who need our medicines, but also because it is an important part of innovation in the industry. So we certainly take this event very seriously.”

Soriot also reiterated that AstraZeneca itself hadn’t been approached by Chinese authorities and the company would cooperate with any investigation.

How healthcare is reacting to a 2nd Trump term

Trump’s first term as president, which ran from 2016 to 2020, was characterized by efforts to chip away at key tenets of the Affordable Care Act, curtail the Medicaid program and deregulate the healthcare industry.

Trump has been vague about his healthcare policy goals on the campaign trail, as polling showed healthcare lagged issues like the economy and immigration for voters. But his second term promises more of the same — but with a savvier, more willing political apparatus behind him, according to experts.

“The focus on healthcare is likely to be similar to that of Trump’s first term but will happen faster and go farther,” said Stephanie Kennan, senior vice president of federal public affairs at McGuireWoods Consulting, over email. 

It’s unlikely that Trump will again attempt to repeal the ACA, which is widely popular among Americans. However, his administration could move to cut costs stemming from the Obama-era law, including allowing more generous subsidies for plans on ACA exchanges to expire next year. That would save taxpayers money, while causing the U.S. uninsurance rate to rise sharply after record gains in coverage under President Biden, according to experts.

FDA Commissioner warns of political risk to agency

With just a few months to go before he likely steps down, President Biden’s FDA Commissioner Rob Califf weighed in on how the agency might be affected by the incoming administration.

Califf, while not mentioning President-elect Donald Trump by name, or his healthcare lead, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., made pointed remarks on Tuesday about the risk to the agency’s authority and its workforce.

Uninsured rates holds at 7.6%

Fewer Americans are uninsured than ever before, with a record low of 7.6% of people under 65 lacking health coverage. This decline is attributed to the Affordable Care Act's expansion of Medicaid and the creation of health insurance marketplaces. Private insurance remains the primary source of coverage for both children and adults, though public programs like Medicaid and CHIP play a significant role, particularly for children. While the data is preliminary, it indicates a positive trend in health insurance coverage across the United States.

Hospital costs account for 41% of healthcare spending

The phrase “health care dollar” is commonly used when talking about overall medical-related expenses. But where does that health care dollar actually go?

Total hospital costs account for 40.7 cents of each dollar, according to AHIP. It breaks this expense into three categories:

  • Outpatient hospital costs (19.9 cents), which are physician and facility non-drug-related payments for treatment in the outpatient department of hospitals (not including emergency room care).

  • Inpatient hospital costs (17.6 cents), including the administration of prescription drugs provided during a hospital stay, payments to physicians and facility payments.

  • Emergency room costs (3.2 cents), such as physician and facility non-drug-related payments for emergency room visits and ambulance transportation.